Universal console chassis for the car

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for a complete vehicle ecosystem are provided. Specifically, systems that when taken alone, or together, provide an individual or group of individuals with an intuitive and comfortable vehicular environment. The present disclosure includes a universal chassis that may be mounted in the head unit of a vehicle. The chassis may accept one or more modules that each have common dimensions. With a common form factor, the universal chassis is configurable as different modules with different functionality may be inserted into the chassis with ease.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.13/679,815, filed on Nov. 16, 2012 which claims the benefits of andpriority, under 35 U.S.C. §119(e), to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.Nos. 61/560,509, filed on Nov. 16, 2011, entitled “Complete VehicleEcosystem;” 61/637,164, filed on Apr. 23, 2012, entitled “CompleteVehicle Ecosystem;” 61/646,747, filed on May 14, 2012, entitled“Branding of Electrically Propelled Vehicles Via the Generation ofSpecific Operating Sounds;” 61/653,275, filed on May 30, 2012, entitled“Vehicle Application Store for Console;” 61/653,264, filed on May 30,2012, entitled “Control of Device Features Based on Vehicle State;”61/653,563, filed on May 31, 2012, entitled “Complete VehicleEcosystem;” 61/663,335, filed on Jun. 22, 2012, entitled “CompleteVehicle Ecosystem;” 61/672,483, filed on Jul. 17, 2012, entitled“Vehicle Climate Control;” 61/714,016, filed on Oct. 15, 2012, entitled“Vehicle Middleware;” and 61/715,699, filed Oct. 18, 2012, entitled“Vehicle Middleware.” The entire disclosures of the applications listedabove are hereby incorporated by reference, in their entirety, for allthat they teach and for all purposes.

This application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. Nos.13/420,236, filed on Mar. 14, 2012, entitled, “Configurable VehicleConsole;” 13/420,240, filed on Mar. 14, 2012, entitled “Removable,Configurable Vehicle Console;” 13/462,593, filed on May 2, 2012,entitled “Configurable Dash Display;” 13/462,596, filed on May 2, 2012,entitled “Configurable Heads-Up Dash Display;” 13/679,459, filed on Nov.16, 2012, entitled “Vehicle Comprising Multi-Operating System” (AttorneyDocket No. 6583-228); 13/679,412, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled“Vehicle Application Store for Console” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-230);13/679,857, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Sharing Applications/MediaBetween Car and Phone (Hydroid)” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-231);13/679,878, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “In-Cloud Connection forCar Multimedia” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-232); 13/679,875, filed onNov. 16, 2012, entitled “Music Streaming” (Attorney Docket No.6583-233); 13/679,676, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Control ofDevice Features Based on Vehicle State” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-234);13/678,673, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Insurance Tracking”(Attorney Docket No. 6583-235); 13/678,691, filed on Nov. 16, 2012,entitled “Law Breaking/Behavior Sensor” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-236);13/678,699, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Etiquette Suggestion”(Attorney Docket No. 6583-237); 13/678,710, filed on Nov. 16, 2012,entitled “Parking Space Finder Based on Parking Meter Data” (AttorneyDocket No. 6583-238); 13/678,722, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled“Parking Meter Expired Alert” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-239);13/678,726, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Object Sensing (PedestrianAvoidance/Accident Avoidance)” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-240);13/678,735, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Proximity Warning Relativeto Other Cars” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-241); 13/678,745, filed on Nov.16, 2012, entitled “Street Side Sensors” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-242);13/678,753, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Car Location” (AttorneyDocket No. 6583-243); 13/679,441, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled“Universal Bus in the Car” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-244); 13/679,864,filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Mobile Hot Spot/Router/ApplicationShare site or Network” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-245); 13/679,476, filedon Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Vehicle Middleware” (Attorney Docket No.6583-247); 13/679,306, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Method andSystem for Vehicle Data Collection Regarding Traffic” (Attorney DocketNo. 6583-248); 13/679,369, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Method andSystem for Vehicle Data Collection” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-249);13/679,680, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Communications Based onVehicle Diagnostics and Indications” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-250);13/679,443, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Method and System forMaintaining and Reporting Vehicle Occupant Information” (Attorney DocketNo. 6583-251); 13/678,762, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “BehavioralTracking and Vehicle Applications” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-252);13/679,842, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Improvements to ControllerArea Network Bus” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-314); 13/678,773, filed onNov. 16, 2012, entitled “Location Information Exchange Between Vehicleand Device” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-315); 13/679,887, filed on Nov.16, 2012, entitled “In Car Communication Between Devices” (AttorneyDocket No. 6583-316); 13/679,842, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled“Configurable Hardware Unit for Car Systems” (Attorney Docket No.6583-317); 13/679,204, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “FeatureRecognition for Configuring a Vehicle Console and Associated Devices”(Attorney Docket No. 6583-318); 13/679,350, filed on Nov. 16, 2012,entitled “Configurable Vehicle Console” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-412);13/679,358, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Configurable Dash Display”(Attorney Docket No. 6583-413); 13/679,363, filed on Nov. 16, 2012,entitled “Configurable Heads-Up Dash Display” (Attorney Docket No.6583-414); and 13/679,368, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Removable,Configurable Vehicle Console” (Attorney Docket No. 6583-415). The entiredisclosures of the applications listed above are hereby incorporated byreference, in their entirety, for all that they teach and for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND

Whether using private, commercial, or public transport, the movement ofpeople and/or cargo has become a major industry. In today'sinterconnected world daily travel is essential to engaging in commerce.Commuting to and from work can account for a large portion of atraveler's day. As a result, vehicle manufacturers have begun to focuson making this commute, and other journeys, more enjoyable and easier.

Currently, vehicle manufacturers attempt to entice travelers to use aspecific conveyance based on any number of features. Most of thesefeatures focus on vehicle safety or efficiency. From the addition ofsafety-restraints, air-bags, and warning systems to more efficientengines, motors, and designs, the vehicle industry has worked to appeasethe supposed needs of the traveler. Recently, however, vehiclemanufactures have shifted their focus to user and passenger comfort as aprimary concern. Making an individual more comfortable while travelinginstills confidence and pleasure in using a given vehicle and increasesan individual's preference for a given manufacturer and/or vehicle type.

One way to instill comfort in a vehicle is to create an environmentwithin the vehicle similar to that of an individual's home. Integratingfeatures in a vehicle that are associated with comfort found in anindividual's home can ease a traveler's transition from home to vehicle.Several manufacturers have added comfort features in vehicles such asthe following: leather seats, adaptive and/or personal climate controlsystems, music and media players, ergonomic controls, Internetconnectivity, etc. However, because these manufacturers have addedfeatures to a conveyance, they have built comfort around a vehicle andfailed to build a vehicle around comfort. Thus, the vehicle as anecosystem has not been fully considered.

SUMMARY

There is a need for a vehicle ecosystem that can integrate both physicaland mental comforts while seamlessly operating with current electronicdevices to result in a totally intuitive and immersive user experience.These and other needs are addressed by the various aspects, embodiments,and/or configurations of the present disclosure. Also, while thedisclosure is presented in terms of exemplary embodiments, it should beappreciated that individual aspects of the disclosure can be separatelyclaimed.

The present disclosure can provide a number of advantages depending onthe particular aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration. Currently, thevehicle industry is dominated by conveyances offering a separate comfortexperience from a home, work, or other aspect of a traveler's life.Unfortunately, current vehicles include a series of separate devicesthat work together while an individual or individuals are associatedwith the vehicle. Technology areas and devices such as user interfaces,applications, tracking capabilities, hardware, and/or location-basedcommunications, could be combined together, or used separately, to forma complete vehicle ecosystem. This ecosystem can provide a connected andintuitive user experience for any traveler.

A series of devices associated with a vehicle along with other devicescan form a complete and familiar user experience. In particular, thedevices, applications, interfaces, hardware, and software may combine toform a user-friendly environment while traveling or otherwise movingfrom one location to another and/or when a vehicle is at rest. Moreover,aspects of the present disclosure may provide communication between thevehicle and a user at any given time. Specifically, communicationbetween a vehicle and another device may also relay information to anindividual and/or group of individuals. This communication between avehicle and at least one other device may include, but is not limitedto, communication between a vehicle and: 1) at least one mobile device,2) at least one other vehicle, 3) another system/group of devices, 4) anon-mobile device, and 5) combinations thereof. These and otheradvantages will be apparent from the disclosure.

The present disclosure describes a method executed by a vehicle system.The vehicle system can automatically determine a person is within avehicle; automatically identify the person; determine if there is asetting to be stored for the person; and store the setting.

The term “ecosystem” or “vehicle ecosystem,” as used herein, refers to acommunity of person(s) in conjunction with the vehicle or other devicecomponents of their environment (for example, climate control, safetyfeatures, mobile devices, multimedia sources etc.), interacting as asystem.

The term “environment” or “vehicle environment,” as used herein, refersto the surroundings or conditions in which a person operates a vehicle.

The term “sensor,” as used herein, refers to a converter or instrumentthat measures a physical quantity or quality and converts themeasurement into a signal which can be read, observed, stored, and/orunderstood by an observer or by another instrument.

The term “stimulus,” as used herein, refers to some event or somethingexternal that influences an activity.

The term “vehicle console” and variations thereof, as used herein,generally refers to, in an automobile, the control-bearing surfaces inthe center of the front of the vehicle interior. The term is applied tothe area beginning in the dashboard and continuing beneath it, and oftenmerging with the transmission tunnel which runs between the frontdriver's and passenger's seats of many vehicles.

The term “automotive navigation system” is a satellite navigation systemdesigned for use in automobiles. It typically uses a GPS navigationdevice to acquire position data to locate the user on a road in theunit's map database. Using the road database, the unit can givedirections to other locations along roads also in its database. Deadreckoning using distance data from sensors attached to the drivetrain, agyroscope and an accelerometer can be used for greater reliability, asGPS signal loss and/or multipath can occur due to urban canyons ortunnels.

The term “bus” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers to asubsystem that transfers information and/or data between variouscomponents. A bus generally refers to the collection communicationhardware interface, interconnects, bus architecture, and/or protocoldefining the communication scheme for a communication system and/orcommunication network. A bus may also be specifically refer to a part ofa communication hardware that interfaces the communication hardware withthe interconnects that connect to other components of the correspondingcommunication network. The bus may be for a wired network, such as aphysical bus, or wireless network, such as part of an antenna orhardware that couples the communication hardware with the antenna. A busarchitecture supports a defined format in which information and/or datais arranged when sent and received through a communication network. Aprotocol may define the format and rules of communication of a busarchitecture.

The terms “communication device,” “smartphone,” and “mobile device,” andvariations thereof, as used herein, are used interchangeably and includeany type of device capable of communicating with one or more of anotherdevice and/or across a communications network, via a communicationsprotocol, and the like. Exemplary communication devices may include butare not limited to smartphones, handheld computers, laptops, netbooks,notebook computers, subnotebooks, tablet computers, scanners, portablegaming devices, phones, pagers, GPS modules, portable music players, andother Internet-enabled and/or network-connected devices.

The terms “head unit,” “dash,” “dashboard,” and variations thereof, asused herein, are used interchangeably and include any panel and/or areaof a vehicle disposed adjacent to an operator, user, and/or passenger.Typical dashboards may include but are not limited to one or morecontrol panel, instrument housing, head unit, indicator, gauge, meter,light, audio equipment, computer, screen, display, HUD unit, andgraphical user interface.

The term “electronic address” refers to any contactable address,including a telephone number, instant message handle, e-mail address,Universal Resource Locator (“URL”), Universal Resource Identifier(“URI”), Address of Record (“AOR”), electronic alias in a database, likeaddresses, and combinations thereof.

The term “head unit” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers to acomponent of a stereo system either in a vehicle or home cinema systemwhich provides a unified hardware interface for the various componentsof an electronic media system.

The term “communication system” or “communication network” andvariations thereof, as used herein, refers to a collection ofcommunication components capable of one or more of transmission, relay,interconnect, control, or otherwise manipulate information or data fromat least one transmitter to at least one receiver. As such, thecommunication may include a range of systems supporting point-to-pointto broadcasting of the information or data. A communication system mayrefer to the collection individual communication hardware as well as theinterconnects associated with and connecting the individualcommunication hardware. Communication hardware may refer to dedicatedcommunication hardware or may refer a processor coupled with acommunication means (i.e. an antenna) and running software capable ofusing the communication means to send a signal within the communicationsystem. Interconnect refers some type of wired or wireless communicationlink that connects various components, such as communication hardware,within a communication system. A communication network may refer to aspecific setup of a communication system with the collection ofindividual communication hardware and interconnects having somedefinable network topography. A communication network may include wiredand/or wireless network having a pre-set to an ad hoc network structure.

The phrases “at least one”, “one or more”, and “and/or” are open-endedexpressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. Forexample, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C”, “at leastone of A, B, or C”, “one or more of A, B, and C”, “one or more of A, B,or C” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and Btogether, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together.

The term “a” or “an” entity,” as used herein, refers to one or more ofthat entity. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “atleast one” can be used interchangeably herein. It is also to be notedthat the terms “comprising”, “including”, and “having” can be usedinterchangeably.

The term “automatic” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers toany process or operation done without material human input when theprocess or operation is performed. However, a process or operation canbe automatic, even though performance of the process or operation usesmaterial or immaterial human input, if the input is received beforeperformance of the process or operation. Human input is deemed to bematerial if such input influences how the process or operation will beperformed. Human input that consents to the performance of the processor operation is not deemed to be “material”.

The term “computer-readable medium,” as used herein, refers to anytangible storage and/or transmission medium that participate inproviding instructions to a processor for execution. Such a medium maytake many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media,volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, forexample, NVRAM, or magnetic or optical disks. Volatile media includesdynamic memory, such as main memory. Common forms of computer-readablemedia include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, magneto-optical medium, aCD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any otherphysical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, aFLASH-EPROM, a solid state medium like a memory card, any other memorychip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any othermedium from which a computer can read. A digital file attachment toe-mail or other self-contained information archive or set of archives isconsidered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storagemedium. When the computer-readable media is configured as a database, itis to be understood that the database may be any type of database, suchas relational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or the like.Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include a tangible storagemedium or distribution medium and prior art-recognized equivalents andsuccessor media, in which the software implementations of the presentdisclosure are stored.

The term “desktop,” as used herein, refers to a metaphor used to portraysystems. A desktop is generally considered a “surface” that typicallyincludes pictures, called icons, widgets, folders, etc. that canactivate show applications, windows, cabinets, files, folders,documents, and other graphical items. The icons are generally selectableto initiate a task through user interface interaction to allow a user toexecute applications or conduct other operations.

The term “display,” as used herein, refers to a portion of a screen usedto display the output of a computer to a user.

The term “displayed image,” as used herein, refers to an image producedon the display. A typical displayed image is a window or desktop. Thedisplayed image may occupy all or a portion of the display.

The term “display orientation,” as used herein, refers to the way inwhich a rectangular display is oriented by a user for viewing. The twomost common types of display orientation are portrait and landscape. Inlandscape mode, the display is oriented such that the width of thedisplay is greater than the height of the display (such as a 4:3 ratio,which is 4 units wide and 3 units tall, or a 16:9 ratio, which is 16units wide and 9 units tall). Stated differently, the longer dimensionof the display is oriented substantially horizontal in landscape modewhile the shorter dimension of the display is oriented substantiallyvertical. In the portrait mode, by contrast, the display is orientedsuch that the width of the display is less than the height of thedisplay. Stated differently, the shorter dimension of the display isoriented substantially horizontal in the portrait mode while the longerdimension of the display is oriented substantially vertical. Themulti-screen display can have one composite display that encompasses allthe screens. The composite display can have different displaycharacteristics based on the various orientations of the device.

The term “gesture,” as used herein, refers to a user action thatexpresses an intended idea, action, meaning, result, and/or outcome. Theuser action can include manipulating a device (e.g., opening or closinga device, changing a device orientation, moving a trackball or wheel,etc.), movement of a body part in relation to the device, movement of animplement or tool in relation to the device, audio inputs, etc. Agesture may be made on a device (such as on the screen) or with thedevice to interact with the device.

The term “module,” as used herein, refers to any known or laterdeveloped hardware, software, firmware, artificial intelligence, fuzzylogic, or combination of hardware and software that is capable ofperforming the functionality associated with that element.

The term “gesture recognition” or “gesture capture,” as used herein,refers to a sense or otherwise a detection of an instance and/or type ofuser gesture. The gesture capture can occur in one or more areas of thescreen, A gesture region can be on the display, where it may be referredto as a touch sensitive display or off the display where it may bereferred to as a gesture capture area.

A “multi-screen application,” as used herein, refers to an applicationthat is capable of producing one or more windows that may simultaneouslyoccupy multiple screens. A multi-screen application commonly can operatein single-screen mode in which one or more windows of the applicationare displayed only on one screen or in multi-screen mode in which one ormore windows are displayed simultaneously on multiple screens.

A “single-screen application,” as used herein, refers to an applicationthat is capable of producing one or more windows that may occupy only asingle screen at a time.

The term “screen,” “touch screen,” or “touchscreen,” as used herein,refers to a physical structure that enables the user to interact withthe computer by touching areas on the screen and provides information toa user through a display. The touch screen may sense user contact in anumber of different ways, such as by a change in an electrical parameter(e.g., resistance or capacitance), acoustic wave variations, infraredradiation proximity detection, light variation detection, and the like.In a resistive touch screen, for example, normally separated conductiveand resistive metallic layers in the screen pass an electrical current.When a user touches the screen, the two layers make contact in thecontacted location, whereby a change in electrical field is noted andthe coordinates of the contacted location calculated. In a capacitivetouch screen, a capacitive layer stores electrical charge, which isdischarged to the user upon contact with the touch screen, causing adecrease in the charge of the capacitive layer. The decrease ismeasured, and the contacted location coordinates determined. In asurface acoustic wave touch screen, an acoustic wave is transmittedthrough the screen, and the acoustic wave is disturbed by user contact.A receiving transducer detects the user contact instance and determinesthe contacted location coordinates.

The term “window” refers to a, typically rectangular, displayed image onat least part of a display that contains or provides content differentfrom the rest of the screen. The window may obscure the desktop.

The terms “determine”, “calculate” and “compute,” and variationsthereof, as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any typeof methodology, process, mathematical operation or technique.

It shall be understood that the term “means” as used herein shall begiven its broadest possible interpretation in accordance with 35 U.S.C.,Section 112, Paragraph 6. Accordingly, a claim incorporating the term“means” shall cover all structures, materials, or acts set forth herein,and all of the equivalents thereof. Further, the structures, materialsor acts and the equivalents thereof shall include all those described inthe summary of the invention, brief description of the drawings,detailed description, abstract, and claims themselves.

The term “vehicle” as used herein includes any conveyance, or model of aconveyance, where the conveyance was originally designed for the purposeof moving one or more tangible objects, such as people, animals, cargo,and the like. The term “vehicle” does not require that a conveyancemoves or is capable of movement. Typical vehicles may include but are inno way limited to cars, trucks, motorcycles, busses, automobiles,trains, railed conveyances, boats, ships, marine conveyances, submarineconveyances, airplanes, space craft, flying machines, human-poweredconveyances, and the like.

The preceding is a simplified summary of the disclosure to provide anunderstanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is neitheran extensive nor exhaustive overview of the disclosure and its variousaspects, embodiments, and/or configurations. It is intended neither toidentify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate thescope of the disclosure but to present selected concepts of thedisclosure in a simplified form as an introduction to the more detaileddescription presented below. As will be appreciated, other aspects,embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure are possibleutilizing, alone or in combination, one or more of the features setforth above or described in detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of a vehicle operating environment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a vehicle system;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a vehicle interiorenvironment separated into areas and/or zones;

FIG. 4 depicts an embodiment of a sensor configuration for a vehicle;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a vehicle control system;

FIG. 6 another block diagram of an embodiment of a vehicle controlsystem;

FIG. 7A is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture thata user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system;

FIG. 7B is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture thata user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system;

FIG. 7C is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture thata user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system;

FIG. 7D is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture thata user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system;

FIG. 7E is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture thata user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system;

FIG. 7F is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture thata user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system;

FIG. 7G is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture thata user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system;

FIG. 7H is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture thata user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system;

FIG. 7I is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture thata user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system;

FIG. 7J is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture thata user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system;

FIG. 7K is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture thata user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an embodiment of a data structure for storinginformation about a user of a vehicle;

FIG. 9A is a front perspective view of an embodiment of a universalvehicle console;

FIG. 9B is a side perspective view of an embodiment of a universalvehicle console;

FIG. 9C is a top perspective view of an embodiment of a universalvehicle console;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of electrical connections for an embodimentof a universal vehicle console;

FIG. 11A is a perspective view of an embodiment of a universal vehicleconsole inserted into a head unit of a vehicle;

FIG. 11B is another perspective view of an embodiment of a universalvehicle console inserted into a head unit of a vehicle with a screenmounted to the universal vehicle console;

FIG. 11C is another perspective view of an embodiment of a universalvehicle console inserted into a head unit of a vehicle a differentexterior configuration for the universal vehicle console.

An embodiment of a universal chassis 900 for a head unit of a vehicle104 is shown in FIGS. 9A through 9C. The universal chassis 900 may havea structure or frame that includes a top and bottom face, two sidefaces, a back, and front structure. The front structure may form two ormore openings or cavities 904 that are substantially similar indimension. The cavities may be formed in the front face by at least twostiles 912 and two or more rails 908. The cavities 904 can extendthrough the structure of the universal chassis 900. In the appendedfigures, similar components and/or features may have the same referencelabel. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguishedby following the reference label by a letter that distinguishes amongthe similar components. If only the first reference label is used in thespecification, the description is applicable to any one of the similarcomponents having the same first reference label irrespective of thesecond reference label.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Presented herein are embodiments of a complete vehicle ecosystem. Theecosystem can comprise single devices or a compilation of devices. Thisdevice, or these devices, may be capable of communicating with otherdevices and/or to an individual or group of individuals. Further, thisdevice, or these devices, can receive user input in unique ways. Theoverall design and functionality of each device provides for an enhanceduser experience making the device more useful and more efficient. Asdescribed herein, the device(s) may be electrical, mechanical,electro-mechanical, software-based, and/or combinations thereof.

A vehicle environment 100 that may contain a vehicle ecosystem is shownin FIG. 1. The vehicle environment 100 can contain areas associated witha vehicle or conveyance 104. The vehicle 104 is shown as a police carbut can be any type of conveyance. The environment 100 can include atleast three zones. A first zone 108 may be inside a vehicle 104. Thezone 108 includes any interior space, trunk space, engine compartment,or other associated space within or associated with the vehicle 104. Theinterior environment 108 can be defined by one or more techniques, forexample, geo-fencing.

A second zone 112 may be delineated by line 120. The zone 112 is createdby a range of one or more sensors associated with the vehicle 104. Thus,the area 112 is exemplary of the range of those sensors and what can bedetected by those sensors associated with the vehicle 104. The rest ofthe environment includes all space beyond the range of the sensors andis represented by 116. Thus, the environment 100 may have an area 116that includes all areas beyond the sensor range 112. The area 116 mayinclude future locations of travel that the vehicle 104 may proceed toin the future.

An embodiment of a vehicle system 200 is shown in FIG. 2. The vehiclesystem 200 may consist of hardware and/or software that conduct variousoperations for or with the vehicle 104. The operations can include, butare not limited to providing information to the user, receiving inputfrom the user, and controlling the functions or operation of the vehicle104, etc. The vehicle system 200 can include a vehicle control system204. The vehicle control system 204 can be any type of computing systemoperable to conduct the operations as described herein.

The vehicle control system 204 may interact with a memory or storagesystem 208 that stores system data. System data 208 may be any type ofdata needed for the vehicle control system 204 to control effectivelythe vehicle 104. An example of some of the data that may be stored bythe vehicle control system 204 may be as described in conjunction withFIG. 8. The system data 208 can represent any type of database or otherstorage system. Thus, the system data 208 can be a flat file datasystem, an object-oriented data system, or some other data system thatmay interface with the vehicle control system 204.

The vehicle control system 204 may communicate with a device or userinterface 212. The user interface 212 may be as described in conjunctionwith FIG. 5. The user interface 212 may be operable to receive userinput either through touch input, on one or more user interface buttons,or through a graphical user interface that may include a gesture captureregion, as described in conjunction with FIG. 5. Further, the symbol 212can represent a device that is located or associated with the vehicle104. The device 212 can be a mobile device, including, but not limitedto, a mobile telephone, a mobile computer, or other type of computingsystem or device that is either permanently located in or temporarilyassociated with the automobile 104. Thus, the vehicle control system 204can interface with the device 212 and leverage the devices computingcapability to provide one or more of the features or functions asdescribed herein.

The device or user interface 212 can receive input or provideinformation to a user 216. The user 216 may thus interact with thevehicle control system 204 through the interface or device 212. Further,the device 212 may include or have access to device data 220. The devicedata 220 can be any type of data that is used in conjunction with thedevice 212, including, but not limited to, multimedia data, preferencesdata, bioinformatics, data associated with the user 216, or other typesof data. The data may be stored in a device data 220 as a storage systemsimilar to that described in conjunction with system data 208.

The vehicle control system 204 may also communicate with or through acommunication network 224. The communication network 224 can representany type of wireless or wired communication system that may be includedwithin the vehicle 104 or operable to communicate outside the vehicle104. Thus, the communication network 224 can include a local areacommunication capability and a wide area communication capability. Forexample, the communication network 224 can include a Bluetooth wirelesssystem, an 802.11G or 802.11N wireless system, a CAN bus, an Ethernetnetwork within the vehicle 104, or other types of communication networksthat may function with or be associated with the vehicle 104. Further,the communication network 224 can also include wide area communicationcapabilities, including one or more of, but not limited to, a cellularcommunication capability, satellite telephone communication capability,a wireless wide area network communication capability, or other types ofcommunication capabilities that allow for the vehicle control system 204to communicate outside the vehicle 104.

The vehicle control system 204 may communicate through the communicationnetwork 224 to a server 228 that may be located in a facility that isnot within physical proximity to the vehicle 104. Thus, the server 224may represent a cloud computing system or cloud storage that allows thevehicle control system 204 to either gain access to further computingcapabilities or to storage in a location outside of the vehicle 104. Theserver 228 can include a computer processor and memory and be similar toany computing system as understood to one skilled in the art.

Further, the server 228 may be associated with stored data 232. Thestored data 232 may be stored in any system or by any method, asdescribed in conjunction with system data 208 and/or device data 220.The stored data 232 can include information that may be associated withone or more users 216 or associated with one or more vehicles 104. Thestored data 232, being stored in a cloud or in a distant facility, maybe exchanged among vehicles 104 or may be used by a user 216 indifferent locations or with different vehicles 104.

The vehicle control system 204 may also communicate with one or moresensors 236/242, which are either associated with the vehicle 104 orcommunicate with the vehicle 104. Vehicle sensors 242 may include one ormore sensors for providing information to the vehicle control system 204that determine or provide information about the environment 100 in whichthe vehicle 104 is operating. Embodiments of these sensors may be asdescribed in conjunction with FIG. 4. Non-vehicle sensor 236 can be anytype of sensor that isn't currently associated with the vehicle 104. Forexample, non-vehicle sensor 236 can be sensors in a traffic systemoperated by a third party that provides data to the vehicle controlsystem 204. Further, the non-vehicle sensor 236 can be other types ofsensors which provide information about the distant environment 116 orother information about the vehicle 104 or the environment 100. Thesenon-vehicle sensors 236 may be operated by third parties but provideinformation to the vehicle control system 204. Examples of informationthat may be used by the vehicle control system 204 may include weathertracking data, user health tracking data, vehicle maintenance data , orother types of data, which may provide environmental or other data tothe vehicle control system 204.

An arrangement or configuration for sensors within a vehicle 104 is asshown in FIG. 3. The sensor arrangement 300 can include one or moreareas 308 within the vehicle. An area can be a larger part of theenvironment inside or outside of the vehicle 104. Thus, area one 308Amay include the area within the trunk space or engine space of thevehicle 104 and/or the front passenger compartment. Area three 308B mayinclude a portion of the interior space 108 of the vehicle 104. The areaN, 308N may include the trunk space or rear compartment area, whenincluded within the vehicle 104. The interior space 108 may also bedivided into areas. Thus, one area may be associated with the frontpassenger's and driver's seats, a second area may be associated with themiddle passengers' seats, and a third area may be associated with a rearpassenger's seat. Each area 308 may include one or more sensors that arepositioned or operate to provide environmental information about thatarea 308.

Each area 308 may be further separated into one or more zones 312 withinthe area 308. For example, area 1 308A may be separated into zone A, 312a, and zone B, 312 a. Each zone 312 may be associated with a particularportion of the interior occupied by a passenger. For example, zone A,312 a may be associated with a driver. Zone B, 312 b, may be associatedwith a front passenger. Each zone 312 may include one or more sensorsthat are positioned or configured to collect information about theenvironment or ecosystem associated with that zone or person.

A passenger area 308 b may include more than two zones as described inconjunction with area 308 a. For example, area 308 b may include threezones, 312 c, 312 d, and 312 e. These three separate zones 312 c, 312 d,and 312 e may be associated with three passenger seats typically foundin the rear passenger area of an automobile 104. An area 308N and mayinclude a single zone 312N as there may be no separate passenger areasbut may include be a single trunk area within the vehicle 104. Thenumber of zones 312 is unlimited within the areas as the areas are alsounlimited inside the vehicle 104. Further, it should be noted that theremay be one or areas 308 or zones 312 that may be located outside thevehicle 104 that may have a specific set of sensors associatedtherewith.

A set of sensors or vehicle components 400 associated with the vehicle404 may be as shown in FIG. 4. The vehicle 104 includes, among manyother components common to vehicles, wheels 407, a power source 409(such as an engine, motor, or energy storage system (e.g., battery orcapacitive energy storage system)), a manual or automatic transmission412, a manual or automatic transmission gear controller 416, a powercontroller 420 (such as a throttle), a vehicle control system 204, thedisplay device 212, a braking system 436, a steering wheel 440, a powersource activation/deactivation switch 444 (e.g., an ignition), anoccupant seating system 448, a wireless signal receiver 453 to receivewireless signals from signal sources such as roadside beacons and otherelectronic roadside devices, and a satellite positioning system receiver457 (e.g., a Global Positioning System (“GPS”) (US), GLONASS (Russia),Galileo positioning system (EU), Compass navigation system (China), andRegional Navigational Satellite System (India) receiver).

The vehicle 104 includes a number of sensors in wireless or wiredcommunication with the vehicle control system 204 and/or display device212 to collect sensed information regarding the vehicle state,configuration, and/or operation. Exemplary sensors include wheel statesensor 460 to sense one or more of vehicle speed, acceleration,deceleration, wheel rotation, wheel speed (e.g., wheelrevolutions-per-minute), wheel slip, and the like, a power source energyoutput sensor 464 to sense a power output of the power source 409 bymeasuring one or more of current engine speed (e.g.,revolutions-per-minute), energy input and/or output (e.g., voltage,current, fuel consumption, and torque) (e.g., turbine speed sensor,input speed sensor, crankshaft position sensor, manifold absolutepressure sensor, mass flow sensor, and the like), and the like, a switchstate sensor 468 to determine a current activation or deactivation stateof the power source activation/deactivation switch 444, a transmissionsetting sensor 470 to determine a current setting of the transmission(e.g., gear selection or setting), a gear controller sensor 472 todetermine a current setting of the gear controller 416, a powercontroller sensor 474 to determine a current setting of the powercontroller 420, a brake sensor 476 to determine a current state (brakingor non-braking) of the braking system 436, a seating system sensor 478to determine a seat setting and current weight of seated occupant, ifany) in a selected seat of the seating system 448, exterior and interiorsound receivers 490 and 492 (e.g., a microphone and other type ofacoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor) to receive and convert soundwaves into an equivalent analog or digital signal. Examples of othersensors (not shown) that may be employed include safety system statesensors to determine a current state of a vehicular safety system (e.g.,air bag setting (deployed or undeployed) and/or seat belt setting(engaged or not engaged)), light setting sensor (e.g., currentheadlight, emergency light, brake light, parking light, fog light,interior or passenger compartment light, and/or tail light state (on oroff)), brake control (e.g., pedal) setting sensor, accelerator pedalsetting or angle sensor, clutch pedal setting sensor, emergency brakepedal setting sensor, door setting (e.g., open, closed, locked orunlocked) sensor, engine temperature sensor, passenger compartment orcabin temperature sensor, window setting (open or closed) sensor, one ormore cameras or other imaging sensors (which commonly convert an opticalimage into an electronic signal but may include other devices fordetection objects such as an electromagnetic radiation emitter/receiverthat emits electromagnetic radiation and receives electromagnetic wavesreflected by the object) to sense objects, such as other vehicles andpedestrians and optionally determine the distance, trajectory and speedof such objects, in the vicinity or path of the vehicle, odometerreading sensor, trip mileage reading sensor, wind speed sensor, radartransmitter/receiver output, brake wear sensor, steering/torque sensor,oxygen sensor, ambient lighting sensor, vision system sensor, rangingsensor, parking sensor, heating, venting, and air conditioning (HVAC)sensor, water sensor, air-fuel ratio meter, blind spot monitor, halleffect sensor, microphone, radio frequency (RF) sensor, infrared (IR)sensor, vehicle control system sensors, wireless network sensor (e.g.,Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth sensor), cellular data sensor, and other sensorsknown to those of skill in the vehicle art.

In the depicted vehicle embodiment, the various sensors are incommunication with the display device 212 and vehicle control system 204via signal carrier network 480. As noted, the signal carrier network 480can be a network of signal conductors, a wireless network (e.g., a radiofrequency, microwave, or infrared communication system using acommunications protocol, such as Wi-Fi), or a combination thereof.

In one implementation, the control system 424 receives and reads sensorsignals, such as wheel and engine speed signals, as a digital inputcomprising, for example, a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal. Theprocessor 304 can be configured, for example, to read each of thesignals into a port configured as a counter or configured to generate aninterrupt on receipt of a pulse, such that the processor 304 candetermine, for example, the engine speed in revolutions per minute (RPM)and the speed of the vehicle in miles per hour (MPH). One skilled in theart will recognize that the two signals can be received from existingsensors in a vehicle comprising a tachometer and a speedometer,respectively. Alternatively, the current engine speed and vehicle speedcan be received in a communication packet as numeric values from aconventional dashboard subsystem comprising a tachometer and aspeedometer. The transmission speed sensor signal can be similarlyreceived as a digital input comprising a signal coupled to a counter orinterrupt signal of the processor 304, or received as a value in acommunication packet on the network or port interface 352 from anexisting subsystem of the vehicle. The ignition sensor signal can beconfigured as a digital input, wherein a HIGH value represents that theignition is on and a LOW value represents that the ignition is OFF.Three bits of the port interface 352 can be configured as a digitalinput to receive the gear shift position signal, representing eightpossible gear shift positions. Alternatively, the gear shift positionsignal can be received in a communication packet as a numeric value onthe port interface 352. The throttle position signal can be received asan analog input value, typically in the range 0-5 volts. Alternatively,the throttle position signal can be received in a communication packetas a numeric value on the port interface 352. The output of othersensors can be processed in a similar fashion.

Other sensors may be included and position in the interior space 108 ofthe vehicle 104. Generally, these interior sensors obtain data about thehealth of the driver and/or passenger(s), data about the safety of thedriver and/or passenger(s), and/or data about the comfort of the driverand/or passenger(s). The health data sensors can include sensors in thesteering wheel that can measure various health telemetry for the person(e.g., heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, blood presence, bloodcomposition, etc.). Sensors in the seats may also provide for healthtelemetry (e.g., presence of liquid, weight, weight shifts, etc.).Infrared sensors could detect a person's temperature; optical sensorscan determine a person's position and whether the person has becomeunconscious. Other health sensors are possible and included herein.

Safety sensors can measure whether the person is acting safely. Opticalsensors can determine a person's position and focus. If the person stopslooking at the road ahead, the optical sensor can detect the lack offocus. Sensors in the seats may detect if a person is leaning forward ormay be injured by a seat belt in a collision. Other sensors can detectthat the driver has at least one hand on a steering wheel. Other safetysensors are possible and contemplated as if included herein.

Comfort sensors can collect information about a person's comfort.Temperature sensors may detect a temperature of the interior cabin.Moisture sensors can determine a relative humidity. Audio sensors candetect loud sounds or other distractions. Audio sensors may also receiveinput from a person through voice data. Other comfort sensors arepossible and contemplated as if included herein.

An embodiment of a vehicle control system 204 and its associatedcomponents 204 may be as shown in FIG. 5. In general, the device 212includes a front screen 212 with a touch sensitive display 568. Thefront screen 212 may be disabled and/or enabled by a suitable command.Moreover, the front screen 212 can be touch sensitive and can includedifferent operative areas. For example, a first operative area, withinthe touch sensitive screen 212, may comprise a touch sensitive display568. In general, the touch sensitive display 568 may comprise a fullcolor, touch sensitive display. A second area within each touchsensitive screen 568 may comprise a gesture capture region 572. Thegesture capture region 572 may comprise one or more areas or regionsthat is outside of the touch sensitive display 568 area or screen area212, and that is capable of receiving input, for example in the form ofgestures provided by a user. However, the one or more gesture captureregions 572 do not include pixels that can perform a display function orcapability.

It is further anticipated that a third region of the touch sensitivescreen 568 may comprise one or more configurable areas. The configurablearea is capable of receiving input and has display or limited displaycapabilities. As can be appreciated, the configurable area may occupyany part of the touch sensitive screen 568 not allocated to a gesturecapture region 572 or touch sensitive display 568. In embodiments, theconfigurable area may present different input options to the user. Forexample, the configurable area may display buttons or other relatableitems. Moreover, the identity of displayed buttons, or whether anybuttons are displayed at all within the configurable area of the touchsensitive screen 568 may be determined from the context in which thedevice 212 is used and/or operated. In an exemplary embodiment, thetouch sensitive screen 568 comprises liquid crystal display devicesextending across at least the region of the touch sensitive screen 568that is capable of providing visual output to a user, and a resistiveand/or capacitive input matrix over the regions of the touch sensitivescreen 568 that are capable of receiving input from the user.

One or more display controllers 516 may be provided for controlling theoperation of the touch sensitive screen 568, including input (touchsensing) and output (display) functions. In the exemplary embodimentillustrated in FIG. 5, a touch screen controller 516 is provided for thetouch screen 568. In accordance with some embodiments, the functions ofa touch screen controller 516 may be incorporated into other components,such as a processor 504.

The processor 504 may comprise a general purpose programmable processoror controller for executing application programming or instructions. Inaccordance with at least some embodiments, the processor 504 may includemultiple processor cores, and/or implement multiple virtual processors.In accordance with still other embodiments, the processor 504 mayinclude multiple physical processors. As a particular example, theprocessor 504 may comprise a specially configured application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC) or other integrated circuit, a digital signalprocessor, a controller, a hardwired electronic or logic circuit, aprogrammable logic device or gate array, a special purpose computer, orthe like. The processor 504 generally functions to run programming codeor instructions implementing various functions of the device 212.

A device 212 may also include memory 508 for use in connection with theexecution of application programming or instructions by the processor504, and for the temporary or long term storage of program instructionsand/or data. As examples, the memory 508 may comprise RAM, DRAM, SDRAM,or other solid state memory. Alternatively or in addition, data storage512 may be provided. Like the memory 508, the data storage 512 maycomprise a solid state memory device or devices. Alternatively or inaddition, the data storage 512 may comprise a hard disk drive or otherrandom access memory.

In support of communications functions or capabilities, the device 212can include a cellular telephony module 528. As examples, the cellulartelephony module 528 can comprise a GSM, CDMA, FDMA and/or analogcellular telephony transceiver capable of supporting voice, multimediaand/or data transfers over a cellular network. Alternatively or inaddition, the device 212 can include an additional or other wirelesscommunications module 532. As examples, the other wirelesscommunications module 532 can comprise a Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH TM, WiMax,infrared, or other wireless communications link. The cellular telephonymodule 528 and the other wireless communications module 532 can each beassociated with a shared or a dedicated antenna 524.

A port interface 552 may be included. The port interface 552 may includeproprietary or universal ports to support the interconnection of thedevice 212 to other devices or components, such as a dock, which mayinclude additional or different capabilities from those integral to thedevice 212. In addition to supporting an exchange of communicationsignals between the device 212 and another device or component, thedocking port (not shown) and/or port interface 552 can support thesupply of power to or from the device 212. The port interface 552 alsocomprises an intelligent element that comprises a docking module forcontrolling communications or other interactions between the device 212and a connected device or component.

An input/output module 548 and associated ports may be included tosupport communications over wired networks or links, for example withother communication devices, server devices, and/or peripheral devices.Examples of an input/output module 548 include an Ethernet port, aUniversal Serial Bus (USB) port, Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 1594, or other interface.

An audio input/output interface/device(s) 544 can be included to provideanalog audio to an interconnected speaker or other device, and toreceive analog audio input from a connected microphone or other device.As an example, the audio input/output interface/device(s) 544 maycomprise an associated amplifier and analog to digital converter.Alternatively or in addition, the device 212 can include an integratedaudio input/output device 556 and/or an audio jack for interconnectingan external speaker or microphone. For example, an integrated speakerand an integrated microphone can be provided, to support near talk orspeaker phone operations.

Hardware buttons 280 can be included for example for use in connectionwith certain control operations. Examples include a master power switch,volume control, etc., as described in conjunction with FIG. 2. One ormore image capture interfaces/devices, such as a camera, can be includedfor capturing still and/or video images. Alternatively or in addition,an image capture interface/device can include a scanner or code reader.An image capture interface/device can include or be associated withadditional elements, such as a flash or other light source.

The device 212 can also include a global positioning system (GPS)receiver 536. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention,the GPS receiver 536 may further comprise a GPS module that is capableof providing absolute location information to other components of thedevice 212. Other sensors 242 may also be included. For example, anaccelerometer(s)/gyroscope(s) may also be included. For example, inconnection with the display of information to a user and/or otherfunctions, a signal from the accelerometer/gyroscope can be used todetermine an orientation and/or format in which to display thatinformation to the user. In some embodiments, theaccelerometer/gyroscope may comprise at least one accelerometer and atleast one gyroscope.

Embodiments of the present invention can also include one or moremagnetic sensing feature. The magnetic sensing feature can be configuredto provide a signal indicating the position of the device relative to avehicle-mounted position. This information can be provided as an input,for example to a user interface application, to determine an operatingmode, characteristics of the touch sensitive display 568 and/or otherdevice 212 operations. As examples, a magnetic sensing feature cancomprise one or more of Hall-effect sensors, a multiple position switch,an optical switch, a Wheatstone bridge, a potentiometer, or otherarrangement capable of providing a signal indicating of multiplerelative positions the touch screens are in. Alternatively, the magneticsensing feature may comprise one or more metallic elements used by othersensors associated with the console and/or vehicle to determine whetherthe device 212 is in a vehicle-mounted position. These metallic elementsmay include but are not limited to rare-earth magnets, electromagnets,ferrite and/or ferrite alloys, and/or other material capable of beingdetected by a range of sensors.

Communications between various components of the device 212 can becarried by one or more buses 520. In addition, power can be supplied tothe components of the device 212 from a power source and/or powercontrol module 560. The power control module 560 can, for example,include a battery, an AC to DC converter, power control logic, and/orports for interconnecting the device 212 to an external source of power.

An embodiment of one or more software modules that may be associatedwith the vehicle control system 204 may be as shown in FIG. 6. Thememory 508 may store and the processor 504 may execute one or moresoftware components. These components can include at least one operatingsystem (OS) 616, an application manager 662, a console desktop 666,and/or one or more applications 664 a and/or 664 b from an applicationstore 660. The OS 616 can include a framework 620, one or more framebuffers 648, one or more drivers 612, and/or a kernel 618. The OS 616can be any software, consisting of programs and data, which managescomputer hardware resources and provides common services for theexecution of various applications 664. The OS 616 can be any operatingsystem and, at least in some embodiments, dedicated to mobile devices,including, but not limited to, Linux, ANDROID™, iPhone OS (IOS™),WINDOWS PHONE 7™, etc. The OS 616 is operable to provide functionalityto the device 212 by executing one or more operations, as describedherein.

The applications 664 can be any higher level software that executesparticular console functionality for the user. Applications 664 caninclude programs such as vehicle control applications, email clients,web browsers, texting applications, games, media players, office suites,etc. The applications 664 can be stored in an application store 660,which may represent any memory or data storage, and the managementsoftware associated therewith, for storing the applications 664. Onceexecuted, the applications 664 may be run in a different area of memory608.

The framework 620 may be any software or data that allows the multipletasks running on the device to interact. In embodiments, at leastportions of the framework 620 and the discrete components describedhereinafter may be considered part of the OS 616 or an application 664.However, these portions will be described as part of the framework 620,but those components are not so limited. The framework 620 can include,but is not limited to, a Surface Cache module 628, a Window Managementmodule 632, an Input Management module 636, an Application Model Manager642, a Display Controller 644, one or more frame buffers 648, and/or anevent buffer 666.

The Surface Cache module 628 includes any memory or storage and thesoftware associated therewith to store or cache one or more images ofapplications, windows, and/or console screens. A series of active and/ornon-active windows (or other display objects, such as, a desktopdisplay) can be associated with each display. An active window (or otherdisplay object) is currently displayed. A non-active window (or otherdisplay objects) was opened and, at some time, displayed but are now notdisplayed. To enhance the user experience, before a window transitionsfrom an active state to an inactive state, a “screen shot” of a lastgenerated image of the window (or other display object) can be stored.The Surface Cache module 628 may be operable to store a bitmap of thelast active image of a window (or other display object) not currentlydisplayed. Thus, the Surface Cache module 628 stores the images ofnon-active windows (or other display objects) in a data store.

In embodiments, the Window Management module 632 is operable to managethe windows (or other display objects) that are active or not active oneach of the displays. The Window Management module 632, based oninformation from the OS 616, or other components, determines when awindow (or other display object) is visible or not active. The WindowManagement module 632 may then put a non-visible window (or otherdisplay object) in a “not active state” and, in conjunction with theTask Management module 640 suspends the application's operation.Further, the Window Management module 632 may assign a displayidentifier to the window (or other display object) or manage one or moreother items of data associated with the window (or other displayobject). The Window Management module 632 may also provide the storedinformation to the application 664, or other components interacting withor associated with the window (or other display object). The WindowManagement module 632 can also associate an input task with a windowbased on window focus and display coordinates within the motion space.

The Input Management module 636 is operable to manage events that occurwith the device. An event is any input into the window environment, forexample, a user interface interactions with a user. The Input Managementmodule 636 receives the events and logically stores the events in anevent buffer 656. Events can include such user interface interactions asa “down event,” which occurs when the screen 204 receives a touch signalfrom a user, a “move event,” which occurs when the screen 204 determinesthat a user's finger is moving across a screen(s), an “up event”, whichoccurs when the device 212 determines that the user has stopped touchingthe screen 568 etc. These events are received, stored, and forwarded toother modules by the Input Management module 636. The Input Managementmodule 636 may also map screen inputs to a motion space which is theculmination of all physical and virtual display available on the device.

The frame buffer 648 is a logical structure(s) used to render the userinterface. The frame buffer 648 can be created and destroyed by the OSkernel 618. However, the Display Controller 644 can write the imagedata, for the visible windows, into the frame buffer 648. A frame buffer648 can be associated with one screen or multiple screens. Theassociation of a frame buffer 648 with a screen can be controlleddynamically by interaction with the OS kernel 618. A composite displaymay be created by associating multiple screens with a single framebuffer 648. Graphical data used to render an application's window userinterface may then be written to the single frame buffer 648, for thecomposite display, which is output to the multiple screens 204. TheDisplay Controller 644 can direct an application's user interface to aportion of the frame buffer 648 that is mapped to a particular display208, thus, displaying the user interface on only one screen 212. TheDisplay Controller 644 can extend the control over user interfaces tomultiple applications, controlling the user interfaces for as manydisplays as are associated with a frame buffer 648 or a portion thereof.This approach compensates for the physical screen 212 and any otherconsole screens that are in use by the software component above theDisplay Controller 644.

The Application Manager 662 is an application that provides apresentation layer for the window environment. Thus, the ApplicationManager 662 provides the graphical model for rendering. Likewise, theDesktop 666 provides the presentation layer for the Application Store660. Thus, the desktop provides a graphical model of a surface havingselectable application icons for the Applications 664 in the ApplicationStore 660 that can be provided to the Window Management Module 632 forrendering.

Further, the framework can include an Application Model Manager (AMM)642. The Application Manager 662 may interface with the AMM 642. Inembodiments, the AMM 642 receives state change information from thedevice 212 regarding the state of applications (which are running orsuspended). The AMM 642 can associate bit map images from the SurfaceCache Module 628 to the applications that are alive (running orsuspended). Further, the AMM 642 may provide a list of executingapplications to the Application Manager 662.

One or more gestures used to interface with the vehicle control system204 may be as described in conjunction with FIGS. 7A through 7K. FIGS.7A through 7H depict various graphical representations of gesture inputsthat may be recognized by the screen(s) 212. The gestures may beperformed not only by a user's body part, such as a digit, but also byother devices, such as a stylus, that may be sensed by the contactsensing portion(s) of a screen 212. In general, gestures are interpreteddifferently, based on where the gestures are performed (either directlyon the display 568 or in the gesture capture region 572). For example,gestures in the display 568 may be directed to a desktop or application,and gestures in the gesture capture region 572 may be interpreted as forthe system.

With reference to FIGS. 7A-7H, a first type of gesture, a touch gesture720, is substantially stationary on the screen 212 for a selected lengthof time. A circle 728 represents a touch or other contact type receivedat particular location of a contact sensing portion of the screen. Thecircle 728 may include a border 732, the thickness of which indicates alength of time that the contact is held substantially stationary at thecontact location. For instance, a tap 720 (or short press) has a thinnerborder 732 a than the border 732 b for a long press 724 (or for a normalpress). The long press 724 may involve a contact that remainssubstantially stationary on the screen for longer time period than thatof a tap 720. As will be appreciated, differently defined gestures maybe registered depending upon the length of time that the touch remainsstationary prior to contact cessation or movement on the screen.

With reference to FIG. 7C, a drag gesture 700 on the screen 212 is aninitial contact (represented by circle 728) with contact movement 736 ina selected direction. The initial contact 728 may remain stationary onthe screen 212 for a certain amount of time represented by the border732. The drag gesture typically requires the user to contact an icon,window, or other displayed image at a first location followed bymovement of the contact in a drag direction to a new second locationdesired for the selected displayed image. The contact movement need notbe in a straight line but have any path of movement so long as thecontact is substantially continuous from the first to the secondlocations.

With reference to FIG. 7D, a flick gesture 704 on the screen 212 is aninitial contact (represented by circle 728) with truncated contactmovement 736 (relative to a drag gesture) in a selected direction. Inembodiments, a flick has a higher exit velocity for the last movement inthe gesture compared to the drag gesture. The flick gesture can, forinstance, be a finger snap following initial contact. Compared to a draggesture, a flick gesture generally does not require continual contactwith the screen 212 from the first location of a displayed image to apredetermined second location. The contacted displayed image is moved bythe flick gesture in the direction of the flick gesture to thepredetermined second location. Although both gestures commonly can movea displayed image from a first location to a second location, thetemporal duration and distance of travel of the contact on the screen isgenerally less for a flick than for a drag gesture.

With reference to FIG. 7E, a pinch gesture 708 on the screen 212 isdepicted. The pinch gesture 708 may be initiated by a first contact 728to the screen 212 by, for example, a first digit and a second contact728 b to the screen 212 by, for example, a second digit. The first andsecond contacts 728 a,b may be detected by a common contact sensingportion of a common screen 212, by different contact sensing portions ofa common screen 212, or by different contact sensing portions ofdifferent screens 212. The first contact 728 a is held for a firstamount of time, as represented by the border 732 a, and the secondcontact 728 b is held for a second amount of time, as represented by theborder 732 b. The first and second amounts of time are generallysubstantially the same, and the first and second contacts 728 a,bgenerally occur substantially simultaneously. The first and secondcontacts 728 a,b generally also include corresponding first and secondcontact movements 736 a,b, respectively. The first and second contactmovements 736 a,b are generally in opposing directions. Stated anotherway, the first contact movement 736 a is towards the second contact 736b, and the second contact movement 736 b is towards the first contact736 a. More simply stated, the pinch gesture 708 may be accomplished bya user's digits touching the screen 212 in a pinching motion.

With reference to FIG. 7F, a spread gesture 710 on the screen 212 isdepicted. The spread gesture 710 may be initiated by a first contact 728a to the screen 212 by, for example, a first digit and a second contact728 b to the screen 212 by, for example, a second digit. The first andsecond contacts 728 a,b may be detected by a common contact sensingportion of a common screen 212, by different contact sensing portions ofa common screen 212, or by different contact sensing portions ofdifferent screens 212. The first contact 728 a is held for a firstamount of time, as represented by the border 732 a, and the secondcontact 728 b is held for a second amount of time, as represented by theborder 732 b. The first and second amounts of time are generallysubstantially the same, and the first and second contacts 728 a,bgenerally occur substantially simultaneously. The first and secondcontacts 728 a,b generally also include corresponding first and secondcontact movements 736 a,b, respectively. The first and second contactmovements 736 a,b are generally in a common direction. Stated anotherway, the first and second contact movements 736 a,b are away from thefirst and second contacts 728 a,b. More simply stated, the spreadgesture 710 may be accomplished by a user's digits touching the screen212 in a spreading motion.

The above gestures may be combined in any manner, such as those shown byFIGS. 7G and 7H, to produce a determined functional result. For example,in FIG. 7G a tap gesture 720 is combined with a drag or flick gesture712 in a direction away from the tap gesture 720. In FIG. 7H, a tapgesture 720 is combined with a drag or flick gesture 712 in a directiontowards the tap gesture 720.

The functional result of receiving a gesture can vary depending on anumber of factors, including a state of the vehicle 104, display 568, orscreen 212, a context associated with the gesture, or sensed location ofthe gesture. The state of the vehicle commonly refers to one or more ofa configuration of the vehicle 104, a display orientation, and user andother inputs received by the vehicle 104. Context commonly refers to oneor more of the particular application(s) selected by the gesture and theportion(s) of the application currently executing, whether theapplication is a single- or multi-screen application, and whether theapplication is a multi-screen application displaying one or morewindows. Sensed location of the gesture commonly refers to whether thesensed set(s) of gesture location coordinates are on a touch sensitivedisplay 568 or a gesture capture region 572, whether the sensed set(s)of gesture location coordinates are associated with a common ordifferent display or screen 212, and/or what portion of the gesturecapture region contains the sensed set(s) of gesture locationcoordinates.

A tap, when received by an a touch sensitive display 568, can be used,for instance, to select an icon to initiate or terminate execution of acorresponding application, to maximize or minimize a window, to reorderwindows in a stack, and to provide user input such as by keyboarddisplay or other displayed image. A drag, when received by a touchsensitive display 568, can be used, for instance, to relocate an icon orwindow to a desired location within a display, to reorder a stack on adisplay, or to span both displays (such that the selected windowoccupies a portion of each display simultaneously). A flick, whenreceived by a touch sensitive display 568 or a gesture capture region572, can be used to relocate a window from a first display to a seconddisplay or to span both displays (such that the selected window occupiesa portion of each display simultaneously). Unlike the drag gesture,however, the flick gesture is generally not used to move the displayedimage to a specific user-selected location but to a default locationthat is not configurable by the user.

The pinch gesture, when received by a touch sensitive display 568 or agesture capture region 572, can be used to minimize or otherwiseincrease the displayed area or size of a window (typically when receivedentirely by a common display), to switch windows displayed at the top ofthe stack on each display to the top of the stack of the other display(typically when received by different displays or screens), or todisplay an application manager (a “pop-up window” that displays thewindows in the stack). The spread gesture, when received by a touchsensitive display 568 or a gesture capture region 572, can be used tomaximize or otherwise decrease the displayed area or size of a window,to switch windows displayed at the top of the stack on each display tothe top of the stack of the other display (typically when received bydifferent displays or screens), or to display an application manager(typically when received by an off-screen gesture capture region on thesame or different screens).

The combined gestures of FIG. 7G, when received by a common displaycapture region in a common display or screen 212, can be used to hold afirst window location constant for a display receiving the gesture whilereordering a second window location to include a window in the displayreceiving the gesture. The combined gestures of FIG. 7H, when receivedby different display capture regions in a common display or screen 212or in different displays or screens, can be used to hold a first windowlocation for a display receiving the tap part of the gesture whilereordering a second window location to include a window in the displayreceiving the flick or drag gesture. Although specific gestures andgesture capture regions in the preceding examples have been associatedwith corresponding sets of functional results, it is to be appreciatedthat these associations can be redefined in any manner to producediffering associations between gestures and/or gesture capture regionsand/or functional results.

Gestures that may be completed in three-dimensional space and not on atouch sensitive screen 568 or gesture capture region 572 may be as shownin FIGS. 7I through 7K. The gestures may be completed in an area where asensor 242, such as an optical sensor, infrared sensor, or other type ofsensor, may detect the gesture. For example, the gesture 740 in FIG. 7I,a person may open their hand 764 and move their hand in a back and forthdirection 748 as a gesture 740 to complete some function with thevehicle 104. For example gesture 764 may change the station of the radioin the vehicle 104. The sensors 242 may both determine the configurationof the hand and the vector of the movement. The vector and handconfiguration can be interpreted to mean certain things to the vehiclecontrol system 204 and produce different results.

In another example of a gesture 752 in FIG. 7J, a user may configuretheir hand 764 to extend two fingers and move the hand in an up and downoperation 756. This gesture 752 may control the volume of the radio orsome other function. Again, the sensors 242 may determine how the personhas configured their hand gesture, and the vector of the movement. Inanother example of a gesture 760 shown in FIG. 7K, a user may extendtheir middle three fingers at an angle 45° from straight vertical andcircle the hand in a counter-clockwise motion 764. This gesture 760 maycause the automobile to change the heat or do some other function. Ascan be understood by one skilled in the art, the configurations of thehand and the types of movement are variable. Thus, the user mayconfigure the hand 764 in any way imaginable and may also move that hand764 in any direction with any vector in three-dimensional space.

The gestures 740, 752, 760, as shown in FIG. 7I through 7K, may occur ina predetermined volume of space within the vehicle 104. For example, asensor 242 may be configured to identify such gestures 740, 752, 760between the front passenger's and front driver's seats over a consolearea within the passenger compartment of the automobile 104. Thegestures 740, 752, 760 may be made within area 1 304 a between zones A312 a and B 312 b. However, there may be other areas 308 where a usermay use certain gestures, where sensors 242 may be able to determine acertain function is desired. Gestures that may be similar but used indifferent areas within the vehicle 104 may cause different functions tobe performed. For example, the gesture 740 in FIG. 7I, if used in zone E312 e, may change the heat provided in zone E 312 e, but may change thestation of a radio if used in zone A312 a. Further, the gestures may bemade with other body parts or, for example, different expressions of apersons' face may be used to control functions in the vehicle 104. Also,the user may use two hands in some circumstances or do other types ofphysical movements that can cause different reactions in the vehicle104.

An embodiment of a data structure 800 to store different settings isshown in FIG. 8. The data structure 800 may include one or more of datafiles or data objects 804. Thus, the data structure 800 may representdifferent types of data bases or data storage, for example,object-oriented data bases, flat file data structures, relationaldatabase, or other types of data storage arrangements. The data file 804may include several portions 808-836 representing different types ofdata. Each of these types of data may be associated with a user, asshown in portion 808.

There may be one or more user records 840 and associated data storedwithin the data file 804. The user can be any person that uses or rideswithin the vehicle or conveyance 104. The user may be identified inportion 812. For the vehicle 104, the user may include a set of one ormore features that may identify the user. These features may be thephysical characteristics of the person that may be identified by facialrecognition or some other type of system. In other embodiments, the usermay provide a unique code to the vehicle control system 204 or providesome other type of data that allows the vehicle control system 204 toidentify the user. The features or characteristics of the user are thenstored in portion 812.

Each user identified in portion 808 may have a different set of settingsfor each area 308 and/or each zone 312 within the vehicle 104. Thus,each set of setting may also be associated with a predetermined zone 312or area 308. The zone 312 is stored in portion 820 and the area 308 isstored in portion 816.

One or more settings may be stored in portion 824. These settings 824may be the configurations of different functions within the vehicle 104that are specified by or for that user. For example, the settings 824may be the position of a seat, the position of a steering wheel, aheating/cooling setting, a radio setting, a cruise control setting, orsome other type of setting associated with the vehicle 104. Further, invehicles adapted to have a configurable console or a configurable dashor heads-up display, the settings 824 may also provide for how thatheads-up display, dash, or console are configured for this particularuser. Each setting 824 may be associated with a different area 308 orzone 312. Thus, there may be more settings 824 for when the user is thedriver and in zone A, 312A, of area 1, 308A. However, there may besimilar settings 824 among the different zones 312 or areas 308 as shownin portion 824. For example, the heating or radio settings for the usermay be similar in every zone 312.

The sensors 242 within the vehicle 104 may be able to either obtain ortrack health data in portion 828. Health data 828 may include any typeof physical characteristic associated with the user. For example, aheart rate, a blood pressure, a temperature, or other types of heathdata may be obtained and stored in portion 828. The user may have thishealth data tracked over a period of time to allow for statisticalanalysis of the user's health while operating the vehicle 104. In thisway if some function of the user's health deviates from a norm, thevehicle 104 may be able to determine there is a problem with the personand react to that data.

One or more gestures may be stored in portion 832. Thus, the gesturesused and described in conjunction FIG. 7A through 7K may beconfigurable. These gestures may be determined or created by the userand stored in portion 832. A user may have different gestures for eachzone 312 or area 308 within the vehicle. The gestures that do certainthings while driving may do other things while in a different area 308of the vehicle 104. Thus, the user may use a first set of gestures whiledriving and a second set while a passenger. Further, one or more usersmay share gestures as shown in portion 832. Each driver may have acommon set of gestures that they use in zone A, 312 a. Each of thesegestures may be determined or captured and then stored with theiraverage characteristics (e.g., vector, position of gesture, etc.) inportion 832.

One or more sets of safety parameters may be stored in portion 836.Safety parameters 836 may be common operating characteristics for thisdriver/passenger or for all drivers/passengers that if deviated from maydetermine there is a problem with the driver/passenger or the vehicle104. For example, a certain route may be taken repeatedly and an averagespeed or mean speed may be determined. If the mean speed deviates bysome number of standard deviations, a problem with the vehicle 104 orthe user may be determined. In another example, the healthcharacteristics or driving experience of the user may be determined. Ifthe user drives in a certain position where their head occupies acertain portion of three-dimensional space within the vehicle 104, thevehicle control system 204 may determine that the safety parameterincludes the users face or head being within this certain portion of thevehicle interior space. If the user's head deviates from that interiorspace for some amount of time, the vehicle control system 204 candetermine that something is wrong with the driver and change thefunction or operation of the vehicle 104 to assist the driver. This mayhappen, for example, when a user falls asleep at the wheel. If theuser's head droops and does no longer occupy a certain three dimensionalspace, the vehicle control system 204 can determine that the driver hasfallen asleep and may take control of the operation of the vehicle 204and steer the vehicle 204 to the side of the road. In other examples, ifthe user's reaction time is too slow or some other safety parameter isnot nominal, the vehicle control system 204 may determine that the useris inebriated or having some other medical problem. The vehicle controlsystem 204 may then assume control of the vehicle to ensure that thedriver is safe.

An embodiment of a universal chassis 900 for a head unit of a vehicle104 is shown in FIGS. 9A through 9C. The universal chassis 900 may havea structure or frame that includes a top and bottom face, two sidefaces, a back, and front structure. The front structure may form two ormore openings or cavities 904 that are substantially similar indimension. The cavities may be formed in the front face by at least twostyles 912 and two or more rails 908. The cavities 904 can extendthrough the structure of the universal chassis 900.

A component or module 928 may be inserted into the cavity 904. Eachmodule 928 has a common size or common physical dimensions. Thus, anymodule 928 may be inserted into any cavity 904. Each module 928 may havea different function or perform different operations but each has thesame form factor. The modules 928 inserted in the cavities can have asame exterior configuration, although the functional performance orcomponents within those modules 928 may be different. Thus, the chassis900 allows for a universal system for accepting different modules 928yet allow the builder to configure the components within the chassis 900to perform different functions. The modules 928 can be any type ofcomputing system, storage system, or other type of device that performsfunctions for the vehicle 104.

The universal chassis 900 may include on the back or unexposed portionof the chassis 900, a universal connection configuration. Theseconnections may include a power bus 924 that includes different ports920 connected by a single power bar 924 or other type of wiringarrangement. Thus, each module 928 can have a similar configuration thatcan connect to the power bus 924. Further, the universal chassis 900 mayalso include an input/output bus 932. The input/output bus 932 may havesimilar configurations with a connection for each cavity 904 of theuniversal chassis 900. The I/O bus 932 can be any type of bus or mayinclude several buses that may be connected to any of the modules 928.The I/O buses may be Ethernet, a CAN bus, or other types ofcommunication systems.

The universal chassis 900 may be mechanically connected to the head unitor slipped into the head unit where only the front face is available tomount devices to the head unit. The universal chassis 900 may alsoinclude connection points for a display device (e.g., touch sensitivescreen 568) or other type of interface to cover the front of theuniversal chassis 900 and provide for viewing information on a userinterface.

An electrical diagram 1000 showing the connections to the modules 928 isshown in FIG. 10. Here, the electrical connections to the modules 928for the power bus 924 is shown. The power bus 924 can electricallyconnect to a power system 1004, which may provide a common amount ofpower (i.e., common voltage and amperage) over the power bus 924.Further, the I/O bus 932 can connect to each module 928 as shown. TheI/O bus 932 may connect to the vehicle control system 204. Thus, eachmodule 928, regardless of its common form factor, may connect to thevehicle control system 204 and power system 1004. This common connectionconfiguration allows for easy configuration, adaptation, andmanipulation of the vehicle's operation.

Visual diagrams for how the universal bus 900 may appear in the headunit 1100 are shown in FIGS. 11A through 11C. In FIG. 11A, the universalchassis 900 is shown in the head unit 1100. The screen or overlay forthe universal chassis 900 is removed in FIG. 11A, which can expose thecomponents 928 and cavities 904 to allow for the insertion or exchangeof modules 928 in the universal chassis 900.

The universal chassis 900 may be configurable in that different modules928 may be inserted in different arrangements or configurations. Thus,the user may add different modules 928 based on what functions the userdesires the vehicle 104 to perform. For example, one module 928 a may bea computing system providing different computing information. Anothermodule 928 b may be a storage system that can store multimedia data.Another module 928 may be a communication component that allows fordifferent wireless communications. There may be other types ofcomponents or module 928 that may also be used in the universal chassis900.

The universal chassis 900 is also configurable for how displays or otherI/O are provided to the user. In FIG. 11B, a single screen 1104 is showncovering the entire universal chassis 900. Thus, this one screen 1104can provide different user interfaces to the user and be configurablevisually. However, it is also possible, as shown in FIG. 11C, to havemultiple screens. In FIG. 11C, there are two screens 1104 a and 1104 b.A space may be provided between the screens 1104 a and 1104 b to provideaccess to one of the components 928 of the universal chassis 900. Thisone component 928 may provide for different I/O or user interface inputson the front face of the component 928. For example, if the user desiresto have mechanical radio controls, the component 928 may provide thoseradio controls on its face. In this way, the front face of the universalchassis is configurable and provides different mechanical and electricalconnections.

Furthermore, while the exemplary aspects, embodiments, and/orconfigurations illustrated herein show the various components of thesystem collocated, certain components of the system can be locatedremotely, at distant portions of a distributed network, such as a LANand/or the Internet, or within a dedicated system. Thus, it should beappreciated, that the components of the system can be combined in to oneor more devices, such as a tablet-like device, or collocated on aparticular node of a distributed network, such as an analog and/ordigital telecommunications network, a packet-switch network, or acircuit-switched network. It will be appreciated from the precedingdescription, and for reasons of computational efficiency, that thecomponents of the system can be arranged at any location within adistributed network of components without affecting the operation of thesystem. For example, the various components can be located in a switchsuch as a PBX and media server, gateway, in one or more communicationsdevices, at one or more users' premises, or some combination thereof.Similarly, one or more functional portions of the system could bedistributed between a telecommunications device(s) and an associatedcomputing device.

Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the various links connectingthe elements can be wired or wireless links, or any combination thereof,or any other known or later developed element(s) that is capable ofsupplying and/or communicating data to and from the connected elements.These wired or wireless links can also be secure links and may becapable of communicating encrypted information. Transmission media usedas links, for example, can be any suitable carrier for electricalsignals, including coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, and maytake the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated duringradio-wave and infra-red data communications.

Also, while the flowcharts have been discussed and illustrated inrelation to a particular sequence of events, it should be appreciatedthat changes, additions, and omissions to this sequence can occurwithout materially affecting the operation of the disclosed embodiments,configuration, and aspects.

In yet another embodiment, the systems and methods of this disclosurecan be implemented in conjunction with a special purpose computer, aprogrammed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integratedcircuit element(s), an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digitalsignal processor, a hard-wired electronic or logic circuit such asdiscrete element circuit, a programmable logic device or gate array suchas PLD, PLA, FPGA, PAL, special purpose computer, any comparable means,or the like. In general, any device(s) or means capable of implementingthe methodology illustrated herein can be used to implement the variousaspects of this disclosure. Exemplary hardware that can be used for thedisclosed embodiments, configurations and aspects includes computers,handheld devices, telephones (e.g., cellular, Internet enabled, digital,analog, hybrids, and others), and other hardware known in the art. Someof these devices include processors (e.g., a single or multiplemicroprocessors), memory, nonvolatile storage, input devices, and outputdevices. Furthermore, alternative software implementations including,but not limited to, distributed processing or component/objectdistributed processing, parallel processing, or virtual machineprocessing can also be constructed to implement the methods describedherein.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be readilyimplemented in conjunction with software using object or object-orientedsoftware development environments that provide portable source code thatcan be used on a variety of computer or workstation platforms.Alternatively, the disclosed system may be implemented partially orfully in hardware using standard logic circuits or VLSI design. Whethersoftware or hardware is used to implement the systems in accordance withthis disclosure is dependent on the speed and/or efficiency requirementsof the system, the particular function, and the particular software orhardware systems or microprocessor or microcomputer systems beingutilized.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be partiallyimplemented in software that can be stored on a storage medium, executedon programmed general-purpose computer with the cooperation of acontroller and memory, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, orthe like. In these instances, the systems and methods of this disclosurecan be implemented as program embedded on personal computer such as anapplet, JAVA® or CGI script, as a resource residing on a server orcomputer workstation, as a routine embedded in a dedicated measurementsystem, system component, or the like. The system can also beimplemented by physically incorporating the system and/or method into asoftware and/or hardware system.

Although the present disclosure describes components and functionsimplemented in the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations withreference to particular standards and protocols, the aspects,embodiments, and/or configurations are not limited to such standards andprotocols. Other similar standards and protocols not mentioned hereinare in existence and are considered to be included in the presentdisclosure. Moreover, the standards and protocols mentioned herein andother similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein areperiodically superseded by faster or more effective equivalents havingessentially the same functions. Such replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents included in thepresent disclosure.

The present disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/orconfigurations, includes components, methods, processes, systems and/orapparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, includingvarious aspects, embodiments, configurations embodiments,subcombinations, and/or subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art willunderstand how to make and use the disclosed aspects, embodiments,and/or configurations after understanding the present disclosure. Thepresent disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/orconfigurations, includes providing devices and processes in the absenceof items not depicted and/or described herein or in various aspects,embodiments, and/or configurations hereof, including in the absence ofsuch items as may have been used in previous devices or processes, e.g.,for improving performance, achieving ease and/or reducing cost ofimplementation.

The foregoing discussion has been presented for purposes of illustrationand description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the disclosureto the form or forms disclosed herein. In the foregoing DetailedDescription for example, various features of the disclosure are groupedtogether in one or more aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations forthe purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The features of the aspects,embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure may be combined inalternate aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations other than thosediscussed above. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claims require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a singleforegoing disclosed aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration. Thus, thefollowing claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodimentof the disclosure.

Moreover, though the description has included description of one or moreaspects, embodiments, and/or configurations and certain variations andmodifications, other variations, combinations, and modifications arewithin the scope of the disclosure, e.g., as may be within the skill andknowledge of those in the art, after understanding the presentdisclosure. It is intended to obtain rights which include alternativeaspects, embodiments, and/or configurations to the extent permitted,including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures,functions, ranges or steps to those claimed, whether or not suchalternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions,ranges or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publiclydedicate any patentable subject matter.

What is claimed is: 1-10. (canceled)
 11. A chassis that mounts into ahead unit of a vehicle, comprising: a back face; two side faces; a top;a bottom; two or more cavities formed into the chassis; a front face,the front face comprising: at least two rails; at least two stiles; andwherein the at least two rails and at least two stiles form an openingto access the two or more cavities in the chassis, wherein each cavityaccepts a module.
 12. The chassis of claim 11, further comprising: oneor more modules inserted into a cavity.
 13. The chassis of claim 12,wherein each cavity has common dimensions, and wherein each module hascommon dimensions.
 14. The chassis of claim 13, further comprising: apower bus mounted to the back face of the chassis; a power connectormounted on the back face and configured to mate with a module andelectrically connected to the power bus; an input/output (I/O) busmounted to the back face of the chassis; and an I/O connector mounted onthe back face , configured to mate with a module, and electricallyconnected to the I/O bus.
 15. The chassis of claim 14, furthercomprising: at least one connection point on a front face of thechassis; and at least two display devices mounted to the connectionpoint, covering the front face of the chassis, and electricallyconnected to at least one module.
 16. A vehicle comprising: a vehicleconsole comprising: a head unit; a chassis mounted in the head unit, thechassis comprising: a back face; two side faces; a top; a bottom; two ormore cavities formed into the chassis; a front face, the front facecomprising: at least two rails; at least two stiles, wherein the atleast two rails and at least two stiles form an opening to access thetwo or more cavities in the chassis; and two or more modules mounted intwo or more cavities.
 17. The vehicle of claim 16, wherein each cavityhas common dimensions, and wherein each module has common dimensions.18. The vehicle of claim 17, further comprising: a power bus mounted tothe back face of the chassis; a power connector mounted on the back faceand configured to mate with a module and electrically connected to thepower bus; an input/output (I/O) bus mounted to the back face of thechassis; and an I/O connector mounted on the back face , configured tomate with a module, and electrically connected to the I/O bus.
 19. Thevehicle of claim 18, further comprising: at least one connection pointon a front face of the chassis; and at least one display devices mountedto the connection point, covering the front face of the chassis, andelectrically connected to at least one module.
 20. The vehicle of claim19, wherein a portion of at least one module is exposed, wherein theportion provides at least on mechanical control to a user to provideinput into a vehicle control system.
 21. The chassis of claim 11,wherein the chassis is received by a head unit of a dashboard, whereineach cavity has substantially similar dimensions, wherein each cavityincludes a wired electrical connection configured to electricallyconnect with a module, and wherein a first module is inserted into afirst cavity of the two or more cavities in the chassis.
 22. The chassisof claim 21, wherein each cavity includes a power connector configuredto mate with a respective module and wherein the power connector of eachcavity is electrically connected to the power bus via the electricalconnection.
 23. The chassis of claim 22, wherein the chassis includes aninput/output (I/O) bus.
 24. The chassis of claim 23, wherein each cavityincludes an I/O connector configured to mate with one or more modulesand wherein the I/O connector of each cavity is electrically connectedto the I/O bus via the electrical connection.
 25. The chassis of claim24, wherein the chassis further comprises at least one connection pointon a front face of the chassis.
 26. The chassis of claim 25, furthercomprising a display device mounted to the connection point and coveringthe front face of the chassis and at least two cavities in the chassis.27. The vehicle of claim 16, wherein the back face is unexposed, whereineach cavity has substantially similar dimensions, and wherein eachcavity includes a wired electrical connection configured to electricallyconnect with a respective module.
 28. The vehicle of claim 27, whereineach cavity includes a power connector configured to mate with arespective module and wherein the power connector of each cavity iselectrically connected to the power bus via the electrical connection.29. The vehicle of claim 28, wherein the chassis includes aninput/output (I/O) bus.
 30. The vehicle of claim 29, wherein each cavityincludes an I/O connector configured to mate with one or more modulesand wherein the I/O connector of each cavity is electrically connectedto the I/O bus via the electrical connection.
 31. The vehicle of claim30, wherein the chassis further comprises at least one connection pointon a front face of the chassis.
 32. The vehicle of claim 31, furthercomprising a display device mounted to the connection point and coveringthe front face of the chassis and at least two cavities in the chassis.